An Ectopic Pregnancy occurs in 1 out of 50 pregnancies and is the leading cause of maternal death in early pregnancy. I had never even heard the words "ectopic pregnancy" until I nearly died from it exactly 2 years ago today. So today I'm sharing my story to raise awareness and hopefully help save someone else's life 
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After trying to conceive for 18 months for a second child, we finally got a (+) pregnancy test. But this time, something felt different. I didn't have the initial excitement that I did with McKenna. And we didn't tell anyone. I wanted to wait until our first ultrasound to make sure everything was OK. Something just didn't completely feel right... it was almost like I knew that I wasn't going to be able to keep this pregnancy.
A test at our physician's office confirmed a (+) pregnancy, however, it was faint. At approximately 7 weeks, I began spotting and we were sent for an early ultrasound. It was then they sat us in a room filled with tissue boxes, and I knew what was coming. We were told I had miscarried.
Immediately, I was sent to get bloodwork. They said they had to check my hCG levels once a week to make sure they were going down accordingly with that of a "normal miscarriage". After 6 consecutive weeks of testing, each week my doctor called to tell me my levels were going down normally and they were almost at 0.
It was a Monday. My husband was out of town and my in-laws were on the way to my house to bring McKenna back from a sleepover. I was home alone and getting ready to do my workout. All of the sudden, I felt sweat pouring down my face and immediately felt sick to my stomach. Realizing I was about to pass out, I grabbed my phone which THANK GOD was right next me, laid down on the floor and called 911. I was in & out of consciousness and there was a sharp shooting pain in my stomach. Finally, the paramedics came through the door and my in-laws had arrived right behind them. I was barely conscious, hyperventilating, and when they asked what had happened, I told them I didn't know. There was a female EMT who asked if I was pregnant. I told her no, but that I recently miscarried and she said "I think I know what's happening."
❤️.
After trying to conceive for 18 months for a second child, we finally got a (+) pregnancy test. But this time, something felt different. I didn't have the initial excitement that I did with McKenna. And we didn't tell anyone. I wanted to wait until our first ultrasound to make sure everything was OK. Something just didn't completely feel right... it was almost like I knew that I wasn't going to be able to keep this pregnancy.
A test at our physician's office confirmed a (+) pregnancy, however, it was faint. At approximately 7 weeks, I began spotting and we were sent for an early ultrasound. It was then they sat us in a room filled with tissue boxes, and I knew what was coming. We were told I had miscarried.
Immediately, I was sent to get bloodwork. They said they had to check my hCG levels once a week to make sure they were going down accordingly with that of a "normal miscarriage". After 6 consecutive weeks of testing, each week my doctor called to tell me my levels were going down normally and they were almost at 0.
It was a Monday. My husband was out of town and my in-laws were on the way to my house to bring McKenna back from a sleepover. I was home alone and getting ready to do my workout. All of the sudden, I felt sweat pouring down my face and immediately felt sick to my stomach. Realizing I was about to pass out, I grabbed my phone which THANK GOD was right next me, laid down on the floor and called 911. I was in & out of consciousness and there was a sharp shooting pain in my stomach. Finally, the paramedics came through the door and my in-laws had arrived right behind them. I was barely conscious, hyperventilating, and when they asked what had happened, I told them I didn't know. There was a female EMT who asked if I was pregnant. I told her no, but that I recently miscarried and she said "I think I know what's happening."
They rushed me to Allegheny General Hospital for emergency surgery. Unaware, I was internally bleeding to death and had lost over 75% of my blood by the time I got to the hospital. Thankfully they quickly found out my blood type and immediately began blood transfusions while they waited for the OB Surgeon to arrive (as AGH doesn't have OB surgeons so they had to page a physician on-call from West Penn Hospital to come & do the surgery). Meanwhile, my husband was skiing in Utah when the doctor called and told him "Your wife's in critical condition and we can't get her stable. You need to get on a plane home like NOW!" The last thing I remember is my mother-in-law coming in the operating room, holding my hand and telling me I had to hang in there for McKenna. In that moment, I just prayed. Prayed that God would let me get through this to see my baby girl again. Then everything went white.
After surgery, they said I was extremely lucky to be alive. That had I not called 911 when I did or if I had gotten to the hospital 30 minutes later, I likely wouldn't be here. I received 4.5 blood transfusions that day, one (huge) incision, 18 staples down my stomach & spent 4 days in the hospital. I was told I had a full tubal rupture due to an ectopic pregnancy.
I was SO grateful to be alive, but I was so confused as to HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! How did I have a pregnancy growing in my tube for 13 WEEKS with NO symptoms, NO pain? I was told I miscarried, I was told my levels were "normal" and the surgeon confirmed everything DID LOOK normal. She said my doctor did everything by the books and the only thing that would have confirmed it would have been an external ultrasound, which I wasn't able to do at the time bc I was only 7 weeks along OR if my doctor had given me a Methotrexate shot. It just seems crazy that there wasn't another way to PREVENT this.
Please know that I do not share this to scare anyone, but to raise awareness to in hopes prevent this from happening to you or someone you know. Sometimes I think we go through things so that our stories can help/save someone's else life. In the unfortunate event you should miscarry, please make sure to take extra precautions and talk to your doctor should you experience anything similar.
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